When George Preston Marshall purchased an NFL franchise for Boston in 1932, they had a contract to play at Braves Field, home of the National League baseball team, and went by the same name -- the Boston Braves. A year later, the team moved to Fenway Park and changed their name to "The Redskins." Then, in 1937, the NFL approved the team's relocation to Washington, D.C. -- and the Washington Redskins were officially born.

On February 8, 1936, the Boston Redskins used the second pick of the very first NFL draft to take running back Riley Smith of Alabama. During his first two seasons, he missed only three minutes in 26 Redskin games, but an injury ended his playing career early, and he turned to coaching.

On March 3, 2004, the Washington Redskins completed a blockbuster trade with the Denver Broncos, sending Pro Bowl cornerback Champ Bailey and a second-round draft pick to Denver in exchange for Pro Bowl running back Clinton Portis. In his first season as a Redskin, Portis rushed for 1,315 yards and averaged 3.8 yards per carry.

In 1963, quarterback Sammy Baugh became the first Washington Redskins player inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame. Team founder George Preston Marshall was also inducted into the Hall of Fame that year.

Stephen Davis was the first Washington Redskin to rush for more than 1,000 yards in three consecutive seasons. He accomplished this feat by rushing for 1,405 yards (1999), 1,318 yards (2000), and 1,432 yards (2001).

Darrell Green (1983-2002) was the first Washington Redskin to top 50 career interceptions. He retired with 54 interceptions -- 6 of them he returned for touchdowns.

In 1962, the Washington Redskins traded former first-round draft choice Ernie Davis to the Cleveland Browns for running back Bobby Mitchell who would become the first African American player in team history and one of the Redskins' greatest stars. Mitchell, who played Flanker for the Redskins from 1962 to 1968, was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in 1983.

On January 13, 1981, San Diego Chargers offensive coordinator Joe Gibbs became the Washington Redskins 20th head coach. Gibbs would go on to become one of the most popular coaches in team history, leading the Redskins to three Super Bowl championships. He retired on March 5, 1993, with a 140-65 record and was replaced by defensive coordinator Richie Petitbon. In 1996, Gibbs was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame. In 2004, however, he got the itch to return to football and began a second tenure as head coach of the Washington Redskins.

On October 12, 1992, in a Monday Night Football game against the Denver Broncos, Art Monk caught his 820th career reception and became the NFL's all-time leading pass receiver. Monk would eventually retire with 940 career receptions. His record, however, would be broken by such NFL greats as Andre Reed, Tim Brown, Chris Carter, and Jerry Rice.

The Washington Redskins did NOT win Super Bowl XVIII, losing to the Los Angeles Raiders 38-9. They DID win Super Bowl XVII, Super Bowl XXII, and Super Bowl XXVI.